In the design and operation of small boats, the problem exists that many small boats are too heavy to carry and it is difficult for a single person to maneuver his boat into the water. Furthermore, even when two people are present, dragging the boat across rocks and sand causes the bottom to wear and the paint to be removed. The wear on the wood as the years go by can be appreciable and can cause destruction of the boat eventually. Even losing the bottom paint from a boat will cause fouling by various marine organisms when the boat is in the water. Quite often a small dingy is dragged up the sand so as to be above high tide in the ocean; at low tide it is a long distance to drag the boat to get it above the high tide line in order that the boat cannot float away when high tide eventually arrives. It has been suggested in the past that the boat be provided with wheels, but mechanisms of this kind make the boat difficult to maneuver in the water and are an added source of maintenance. The wheels in such prior art design tend to sink into the sand and become caught between boulders, so that it is difficult to tow the boat to the water. Furthermore, if the boat could be readily maneuvered by a single person, it is possible to use the boat as a sort of wheelbarrow to carry other equipment such as gas tanks, engines, and the like down to the water at the same time. In addition, the prior art devices have been fairly intricate and these are easily rendered inoperative in the sandy, salt water environment of the ocean. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a simple means of rendering a small boar maneuverable over a substantial distance by a single person.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a boat attachment which can be applied to the end of a small boat which will allow the boat to be moved around despite the presence of boulders and/or soft sand.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a boat attachment which is simple in construction, which is easy to manufacture, and which is capable of a long life of useful service with a minimum of maintenance.
It is another object of the instant invention to provide a boat attachment consisting of an elongated roller formed of an elastomer plastic which is not only light in weight, but actually provided floatation under certain circumstances.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a boat attachment which, when removed from the boat, leaves remaining only a very small permanent fixture that will not interfere in any way with the operation of the boat, including the operation of an outboard motor.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.